Empty Bed Syndrome
by Lady Talla-doe
Summary: Everyone is forced to double up during a prolonged hunt; Vaako finally gets the room to himself, only to find the sleeping alone isn't so easy.


_Riddick and Vaako snuggling PROMPT :_

"_Riddick and Vaako share a bed but the sour puss that Vaako is doesn't admit to how much he enjoys Riddick snuggles when they sleep, for whatever reason, Vaako is getting ready to go to sleep for the night and finds himself in their bed alone and feeling kind of lonely rolls over to Riddick's side of the bed, just for a second, he swears, next thing he knows, Riddick is crawling into bed and you can take it from there." – D.A.V.I.D_

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><p><strong>Empty Bed Syndrome.<strong>

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><p>Vaako sighed, dropping back onto the large bed; it seemed like forever since he'd had a chance to sleep on his own. A little over a month before, Riddick had dispersed the armada, suspending its on-going mission in favour of a little side trip. He hadn't specified what he was looking for, but as Lord Marshal, he didn't have to.<p>

Unfortunately, the ships they were traveling with were a great deal smaller then the Basilica- there were a limited number of personal quarters, and what rooms were available for them to choose from were small, and insecure. It had been Riddick's suggestion that high ranked personnel double up, two to a room, to keep any attempted assassinations to a minimum. Vaako had been set to go with Commander Strets, when Riddick had informed him he would be bunking with him.

It had been startling, entering those small quarters and being face with only one bed. He really should have know that breeder meant it literally. It didn't necessarily _bother_ him; he was used to sleeping with company, but that company was usually female. It was a very new experience to go to sleep on separate sides of the large bed, and wake up with a hard body curled around his own.

That first night, it had been unnerving. Vaako had woken almost the moment his Lord Marshal's arm had circled his waist, pulling him back against the Furyan. He had froze, temporarily stunned stupid by the action. But Riddick had remained stubbornly asleep, ignorant to his First Among 's distress. He had tried to remove his arm, carefully, but had gotten nowhere. Because Vaako was sure Riddick's animal reactions woke first, he hadn't shaken the man, hadn't pressed the issue.

And so it had gone.

Every night, Vaako would retire first; regardless of what Riddick thought of them, Necromongers were not dead. Vaako needed sustenance, shelter, sleep. He would perish without them, like any other creature.

So he slipped beneath the covers first, and often fell asleep before Riddick returned to their rooms. He would wake briefly when the bed dipped, but slid back into the blackness quickly enough. Then, of course, Riddick would fall asleep, and suddenly the larger man was glued to his back. For the first few days Vaako had woken, and stayed awake, for a great many hours. But over time, he had yielded to his bodies needs, and given up on staring into the darkness. It most certainly didn't have any answers for him. Irritably, the longer this strange nightly disturbance happened, the more used to it he had become. He slept just as deeply with Riddick at his back as he did with Dame Vaako.

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. Vaako slept lightly around his sly wife; one of these days, it would not surprise him to fail to wake up at all. He had no doubt that she would leave him, if ever she thought he was beyond her control.

Restless, Vaako rolled onto his other side, facing Riddick's side of the bed. Normally, it took a matter of minutes for him to fall asleep. But tonight, peace just wouldn't come. His mood was foul, irritation crawling across his skin like a thousand legged insect; no matter how he moved, he never seemed comfortable. The bed was never cool enough- or it was too cool, and his feet froze. Or his pillow was too flat. Or it was too high. At one point, he swore there was a stone in the bed; but it had been nothing but a crease in the linen.

He moved about the bed, tossing the covers, then scratching for them one more. The bed felt too large, yet he didn't have enough room on his side.

Growling softly, Vaako gave up on pretence of politeness, and rolled into the cool sheets on Riddick's side. Immediately, he felt his body settle, finally finding a comfortable arrangement of limbs. Without another thought, he closed his eyes, sighing with the exhaustion that attacked his eyes.

Vaako slept, arm tucked under his Lord Marshal's pillow, curled facing Riddick's side of the room.

A weight settled on the mattress, dipping it by his hip. Vaako started form sleep, blinking sleep fogged eyes at the dark shadow. He frowned, irritated; he'd only just gotten to sleep, why on earth was he being woken? The shadow chuckled, resolving into Riddick; Vaako grunted something, closing his eyes. It might have been an insulted, or a tell off, he couldn't be sure. The mattress levelled, something warm resting on his blanketed hip before moving off. Riddick said something in return, but he honestly didn't catch it.

Next thing he knew, the bed was dipping again, and hands were scooping him up, lifting him momentarily from the bed; shuffling him over. Vaako hissed something, growling as his leg hit the cold sheets; he moved forward, dragging his arms in against his chest, and pressed into the warmth that slid under the blanket. Riddick chuckled, and distantly he realised that he was crowding the Furyan, burrowing into him like he were a blanket. But the breeder didn't seem to mind; he said something again, and Vaako didn't quite catch it, but it sounded like "_Guess you missed me." _Warm, solid arms were closing around them, and Vaako didn't have time to respond before sleep sucked him down.

Riddick grinned down at the sleeping Necro. Vaako's greeting wasn't something he was likely to forget for a long time. When he'd shaken the man awake, and informed him he was on his side, Vaako had stared blurrily up at him, and said, "_I missed you_."

And damn if it wasn't the sweetest thing he'd ever heard.

Chuckling, Riddick settled down, tucking his sleeping Commander closer.


End file.
